FIB and DualBeam Technology: Nanoprototyping and Nanofabrication Applications

Abstract

The use of focused ion beam (FIB) technology in the area of nanoprototyping and nanofabrication is becoming increasingly important as dimensions of emphasis continue to shrink from the micrometer to the nanometer level. FIB technology is being utilized in novel ways to engineer nano-structures and devices employing ion- and/or electron-beam deposition of metals, organic materials or insulators, and milling of materials with the ion beam. Using an on-board digital pattern generator and scripting language to control the instrument, nanoscale fabrication of complex structures can be reproducibly created with the FIB with little or no user intervention. Beam parameters such as dwell time, beam overlap and beam spot size may be controlled via digital patterning or scripting. The figure below reveals that channel widths of less than 100 nm are easily achievable with FIB milling. This interactive presentation will summarize the nanofabrication techniques and show how arrays of nano-structures can be generated with a high degree of repeatability.